Ali Beshir

Multi-Shelter Housing Worker

Having a home of your own – a key to a front door – means a lot. It means having privacy and it means being able to experience the feelings of security, calmness and happiness that many of us take for granted.

At The Ottawa Mission, Multi Shelter Housing Worker Ali Beshir works every day to help people find a home of their own. Equally as important, Ali also works to ensure people continue to do well once they have a home.

There are also different housing initiatives available through The Ottawa Mission. Like Second Stage housing for men who have completed addiction treatment programs and need some transition time and support before moving back into a place of their own.

There’s also a small apartment building that offers rent subsidies for people who have gone through life changing programs at The Ottawa Mission and are now ready to live alone. Many people Ali works with have lived in shelters for a long time and one of the many challenges is showing them other options available out of the shelter system.

Ali feels the best part of his job is when a person sees a future for himself outside the shelter system. He also notes that often when his clients move into a place of their own, they become aware of a whole other world which they have forgotten about.